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Voter Outreach

Your Vote Counts in the County!

Why Vote?

The right of an American to vote is the right that defines our democracy. The health of that democracy is dependent on the energy and resolve with which it safeguards this most precious and fundamental of rights, and thus encourages the citizen participation that is its greatest strength.

Elected officials decide many issues that affect our daily lives, such as:

How many police officers patrol the streets

How much money the school district will spend on teachers, classrooms, and text books

The types of materials a public library can loan out

Fees, laws, and regulation for environmental issues

Tax rates and how the government will spend tax dollars

One vote does make a difference..

In 1800, Thomas Jefferson won the presidency with just one vote in the House of Representatives after a tie in the Electoral College.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the U.S. Presidency by the equivalent of less than one vote in each precinct.

In 1981, in a local school district election in Belmont, California, winner Chon Gutierrez and his opponent, Stanley Landland, received the same number of votes and had to draw straws to determine the election.

In 1984, Mary Herron lost the mayor's race in Coronado, California by nine votes. Her supporters thought she was the overwhelming favorite, and many did not bother to vote.